Sirius Black
Sirius Black (1959-1996) was a member of the Order of the Phoenix who fought in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars. He was falsely accused of betraying his best friends James and Lily Potter to Lord Voldemort, as well as being responsible for the deaths of thirteen Muggles. As a result, he was imprisoned in Azkaban for twelve years, and became the first person to escape from the prison without any outside assistance.Barty Crouch Jr. secretly escaped from Azkaban before Sirius, but with the help of his parents. He rejoined the Order following Voldemort's resurrection,Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Chapter 36 (The Parting of the Ways) but was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange a year later. He was the godfather of Harry Potter. Biography Childhood (1959-1971) Sirius was born to Orion and Walburga Black on 3 November 1959. He grew up with his younger brother Regulus in the family home, number twelve, Grimmauld Place. Sirius' parents were strong proponents of pure-blood ideology, and they attempted to raise him in their beliefs. However, he proved to be a lot less susceptible to this than his brother. He received his Hogwarts letter sometime in 1970 or 1971. Years at Hogwarts (1971-1978) Sirius boarded the Hogwarts Express on 1 September 1971. Aboard the train, he met fellow first year James Potter, with whom he became fast friends. He also encountered Severus Snape and Lily Evans, who he interacted with in a less than cordial manner. In particular, he took an instant dislike to Snape, a feeling that was mutual. When they arrived at Hogwarts, Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, despite the fact that his entire family had been sorted into Slytherin. This was presumably the beginning of the disintegration of his relationship with his parents. Sirius became very close to James, who had also been sorted in Gryffindor, to the point of being like brothers. He also befriended fellow Gryffindors Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Sirius and James might have ignored Peter, who lacked their brilliance, but were persuaded otherwise by Remus.Pottermore - Remus Lupin As a group, they earned the permanent enmity of Snape, and Sirius and James in particular took delight in bullying him. The two of them were notorious troublemakers and frequently ended up in detention.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 9 (The Woes of Mrs Weasley)Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 24 (Sectumsempra) Meanwhile, they became curious about Remus' mysterious monthly absences. They eventually discovered in their second year that he was a werewolf, and decided to become Animagi to help him during transformations.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Chapter 18 (Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs) Although it was a very difficult process, Sirius and James were the brightest students in the school, and they finally managed to achieve their goal in their fifth year. Sirius was able to transform into a giant black dog, and earned the nickname 'Padfoot' from his friends. Each full moon, they would accompany Remus to the Shrieking Shack, and roam the school grounds with him once transformed. Consequently, they grew to know the school and grounds better than any other student, and decided to create an enchanted map of Hogwarts with this knowledge. This was named the Marauder's Map, after their nickname for themselves, and displayed the location of every person within the school.Pottermore - The Marauder's Map The Marauders' feud with Snape continued to escalate as the years went on. Snape was very suspicious about Remus' absences, and thinking it would be a funny prank, Sirius let slip in their fifth year that he could be found at the bottom of the Whomping Willow during the full moon. This would have resulted in Snape's death, had James not followed him and pulled him out just in time. Another incident occurred after the Charms O.W.L. Sirius expressed feelings of boredom to James, who took it upon himself to hex Snape for his entertainment.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Chapter 28 (Snape's Worst Memory) Sirius' relationship with his parents remained troubled throughout his school years. He finally ran away from home at about sixteen and was disowned by his mother, who blasted him off the family tree. He was taken in by the Potters, who treated him like a second son. However, when he was seventeen, his uncle, Alphard, left him some gold, enabling him to buy a flat. He still went round to the Potters for Sunday lunch. Joining the Order (1978-1981) By the time Sirius left school, Lord Voldemort was at the height of his power and the First Wizarding War was well underway. Sirius and his friends immediately joined the Order of the Phoenix. He was the best man at James' wedding to Lily Evans, and was named godfather to their son, Harry. The Potters were forced to go into hiding when it became clear that Voldemort was targeting Harry, believing him to be a future threat. They decided to cast the Fidelius Charm on their house in Godric's Hollow and chose Sirius as Secret Keeper. However, Sirius believed he would be too obvious a choice, and advised them to switch to Peter instead. They did so, and refrained from telling anyone else about the swap, as they suspected there was a spy in the Order. This included Remus, who Sirius believed was the culprit. As it turned out, Peter was really the spy, and he betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, who found and murdered them on 31 October 1981. But, when he attempted to kill Harry, the Killing Curse rebounded onto him, reducing him to a shadow and sending him into exile. Sirius arrived at Godric's Hollow later that night and was devastated to learn of his friends deaths. He tried to take Harry with him, but was stopped by Hagrid, who was to take him to his Muggle relatives on Dumbledore's orders. Sirius accepted this and gave Hagrid his motorbike. He then left in pursuit of Peter, who he now knew was the traitor. Arrest and imprisonment (1981-1993) Sirius came upon Peter in a crowded Muggle street. Peter shouted out to the crowd that Sirius had betrayed James and Lily and, with his wand behind his back, sent off an explosion that killed thirteen Muggles. He then cut off a finger and transformed into a rat, making it look like he had been killed in the blast. The Ministry showed up and found a maniacally laughing Sirius, who they carted away to Azkaban. As nobody knew about the Secret Keeper switch, everyone believed he was a Death Eater and was responsible for the deaths of James and Lily, as well as Peter and the Muggles. He was sent to prison without trial and placed in one of the highest security cells. He remained there for twelve years. Despite being surrounded by dementors, he managed to hold onto his sanity, as he was protected by the knowledge of his innocence. Escape from Azkaban (1993-1995) In the summer of 1993, Sirius borrowed a newspaper from Cornelius Fudge as he was conducting his inspection of Azkaban. The Weasley family were pictured on the front page, and with them was a rat Sirius immediately recognised as Peter Pettigrew. The article stated that the Weasley children would be going back to Hogwarts in September, and therefore, so would the rat. He vowed to break out of prison so he could hunt him down and kill him, knowing that Harry was potentially in danger as long as he was around. He transformed into his Animagus form, as dementors can't tell the difference between humans and animals, and slipped through the bars. He then swam as a dog back to England. Before heading north to Scotland, he visited Little Whinging to catch a glimpse of Harry, but unintentionally scared him. Sirius' escape was major news, as it was the first time a prisoner had been known to break out of Azkaban. The Ministry dedicated all of their time to hunting him down, offering rewards for his arrest and stationing dementors outside Hogwarts. When Sirius eventually reached the school, he started living in the Forbidden Forest, and befriended Hermione Granger's cat, Crookshanks, who had long been suspicious of Ron's pet. He attempted to break into Gryffindor Tower on Halloween without success. The Fat Lady refused to let him in, and he slashed her portrait in retaliation. He made another attempt when Crookshanks stole a list of passwords from Neville Longbottom, and made it as far as the boys' dormitory when Ron Weasley woke to see him standing over his bed with a knife. He immediately fled the scene. Sirius's next attempt at capturing Peter came in the summer. He spied Harry, Ron and Hermione walking across the grounds and pounced, dragging Ron (and by extension, Peter) into the Whomping Willow. Harry and Hermione followed and came face to face with Sirius in the Shrieking Shack. Harry, believing him to be responsible for the deaths of his parents, attacked him, but was interrupted at that moment by Remus Lupin, who had seen them on the Marauder's Map and come to investigate. He had realised Peter was still alive and reunited with Sirius, now convinced of his innocence. They then proceeded to explain the whole story to the trio. However, though they were beginning to sway them to their side, they were discovered by their old enemy Snape, and so the three students knocked him out with their Disarming Charms. Sirius and Remus then confirmed their story by transforming Peter back into his human form. As they headed back to the castle, Snape and Peter in tow, they came to the realisation that they had forgotten one very important fact: it was the full moon. Remus began his transformation and Peter was able to escape in the chaos. Sirius fended Remus off in his Animagus form, but they were attacked by Dementors and he passed out alongside Harry and Hermione. Snape later found them, having reawakened, and brought them to the castle, where Sirius was sentenced by the Ministry to the Dementor's Kiss. Before the sentence could be carried out, however, he was rescued by Harry and Hermione on the back of Buckbeak the hippogriff. He flew away on Buckbeak into the night. Sirius remained in contact with Harry and the others while on the run. He even sent Ron a new owl to make up for his lost rat. He moved closer to Hogwarts when he became concerned about Harry's scar hurting, a feeling which intensified when Harry was chosen as a champion for the newly revived Triwizard Tournament. These events, along with several disappearances and a resurgence in Death Eater activity, prompted him to meet up with Harry in Hogsmeade, where he was staying, and express his concerns about his safety. His fears came true when Harry was kidnapped during the final Triwizard task and forced to witness Voldemort's return to power, barely escaping with his life. Dumbledore summoned Sirius to the castle so he could offer Harry comfort and support. Second Wizarding War (1995-1996) Voldemort's return meant that resistance had to be organised, and so Sirius was tasked with the job of reaching out to members of the old Order of the Phoenix. He offered his parents' old house as headquarters for the newly reformed Order, which had the unfortunate consequence of ensuring that he would be forced to stay in the home he despised. This caused a great deal of frustration on his part, as could not go on missions for the Order and was effectively trapped in his own home (Voldemort being aware of his Animagus form). He was joined there by Remus, and also welcomed Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys for the summer and Christmas holidays. Together, they attempted to clean up the house and make it suitable for human habitation, often foiled by the Black family house-elf Kreacher, which annoyed Sirius no end. Sirius became increasingly moody as the time came for Harry to return to school. He accompanied him to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, against Dumbledore's orders, in Animagus form, where he was spotted by Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy tipped off the Ministry that Sirius was hiding in London. Sirius later Flooed Harry at school a couple of times and was nearly caught by Dolores Umbridge, new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and authoritarian Ministry official. He invited Harry and the Weasleys to stay with him over Christmas when Arthur was attacked by a giant snake, and grew considerably more cheerful from the company. However, he unknowingly enabled Kreacher to leave the house and feed information to Narcissa Malfoy, by telling him to get out. His frustration about being stuck in the house was also exacerbated by a fight with Snape, who mocked him and accused him of cowardice. Death (1996) Description here. Appearance Sirius was a tall and handsome man, with black hair and grey eyes. His stint in Azkaban gave him a gaunt, corpse-like appearance, with waxy skin, yellow teeth and long, matted hair. His return to Grimmauld Place (and a regular diet) did much to restore his looks, however. Personality Description here. Skills and abilities Description here. Notable possessions *Motorcycle *Marauder's Map *Two-way mirror Etymology Sirius is named after the brightest star in the sky, also known as the Dog Star. This follows in the Black family tradition of naming children after stars and constellations. Appearances * (mentioned) * * * * * (mentioned) * *''Harry Potter prequel'' * See also *Sirius Black/Quotes *Black family References External links * Category:1950s births Category:1971-1978 cohort Category:1996 deaths Category:20th century wizards Category:Animagi Category:Azkaban inmates Category:Black family Category:British people Category:Gryffindor students Category:Marauders Category:Order of the Phoenix Category:Pure-bloods